Wisdom
of Vedas prompts the Need for Spiritual Education
(Compilation for a discourse by N.
R. Srinivasan, Nashville, TN, USA, December 2017)
Please recall my
discourse “Hindu Educational System through the Ages”. Hindus focus on secular
education so vitally needed to live and prosper in this material world during
their first half of life but having settled in life they start to focus on
spiritual education in their second half which is needed to make this very life
meaningful though they might have been inducted to it very early in life by
Sacraments like Vidhyarambha and Upanayana. Upanishads
speak of Spiritual education itself as Para and Apara Vidya learnt
through a Guru in a Gurukula over long period though Apara vidya may contain
good portion of secular education. The focus is on various aspects of Dharma in
both these studies and hence spiritual.
Here we should not forget the great contributions our Rishis made to
science and technology for the benefit of mankind in their pursuit of Para and
Apara Vidya, who were the earliest scientists.
Para and Apara Vidyas in
Upanishads
Upanishads consider two types of
Spiritual Knowledge called Paraa (transcendental) and Aparaa (Terrestrial) based on Gurukula
system of Studies in Vedic culture.
To a question posed by Saunaka to his
respected Guru Angirasa: “What is that
by the knowing of which all this becomes known”? Angirasa replies:
Dwe vidye veditavye iti ha smayad |
Brahmavido vadanti paraa chivaaparaa cha || Tatraaparaa, rigvedo yajurvedah
sikshaa kalpo vyaakaranam niruktam cchando
jyotishamiti atha paraa, yayaa tadaksharam adhigamyate ||
द्वे विद्ये वेदितव्ये इति ह् स्म यद्ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति परा चैवापरा च |
तत्रापरा ऋग्वेदो यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽथर्ववेदः शिक्षा कल्पो व्याकरणं निरुक्तं छन्दो ज्योतिषमिति |
अथ परा यया तदक्षरमधिग्म्यते || - (Mundaka
Upanishad (I-i.4-5)
There are two different kinds of Knowledge to be acquired –
'the higher knowledge' or Paraa Vidya) and 'the lower knowledge' or Aparaa
Vidya. The lower knowledge consists of all textual knowledge - The Four
Vedas; The Science of Pronunciation etc. (Siksha or Phonetics); The Code of
Rituals ( Kalpa); grammar(Vyaakarana); etymology
(Nirukta); Metrics (Chhndas) and astrology (Jyotisha).
The higher knowledge is by which the immutable and the
imperishable Self or Aatman is realized, which knowledge
brings about the direct realization of the Supreme Reality, the source of All.
The knowledge of the Aatman is very subtle; it cannot be acquired by one’s own
effort; the Aatman cannot be intuitively apprehended by mere intellectual
equipment. Thus, Angirasa draws the distinction between the way of knowledge
(Terrestrial) and the way of realization (Transcendental), as between opinion
and truth. We understand all this as Spiritual
Education that leads to Spiritual Knowledge. For understanding this and for
realizing the Reality (Transcendental Knowledge) the aspirant must seek a
teacher. The teacher who has already realized his identity with the Aatman
alone can impart this much sought-after wisdom on the strength of his own experiences.
In practical life we think of Secular Education as Apara Vidya
needed to lead Pravritti Maarga with Manava Dharma (Human Values) and think of Spiritual Education and Knowledge
that leads us to Liberation called Moksha by renunciation to lead Nivritti
Marga as Paravidya. Let me dwell on the subject with these
objectives.
We as Indian migrants and
Indian Americans live in this secular country, USA. Indian government has also
adopted principals of secularism. In both these countries law does not permit
the imparting of spiritual instructions in schools and colleges. It should be
done as a part of extra-curricular education. With limited resources and few
well versed teachers, Ganesha Temple at Nashville is trying to impart much
needed spiritual education through its programmed Vedic Heritage Teaching.
No doubt secular
education is needed most for our existence and well-being. The scientists in a
way are Raja Yogis. They have great power of concentration. They have created a
new world within a short time. In this they have acted as assistants of the
creator, Brahma. They have produced marvels in the field of science and
technology. We enjoy great comforts and conveniences on account of their genius
and inventions. Secular education is necessary to earn our daily bread and
enjoy comforts and conveniences. For this knowledge of technology, engineering,
medicine and other sciences is essential.
Dr. C. Rajagopalachari,
popularly known as Rajaji once said that: “the greatest of our inventions
cannot reach the border line of metaphysics”. There is something greater than
material knowledge. Side by side with
other activities, we should study the science of Absolute Reality, for man does
not live by bread alone. Our goal is not
to die like a worm after a brief illness, willful action, accident or old age
here on this earth. Our goal is to
attain Self-realization. Immortality is not attained by proficiency in modern
learning, nor by actions, nor by progeny, nor by wealth, but by Self-
realization, Nishkaama Karma (duty to society without any expectation of
reward) and Renunciation.
Spiritual education
enables us to control the mind, egoism, cultivate divine virtues and attain the
knowledge of the Self. It helps the student to develop a strong, healthy body
and mind, self -confidence, courage, ethical perfection, initiative in all
worthy undertakings and a good character. It implants in him the ideals of
simplicity, service and devotion. These ideas should provide his very being and
perfume all his thoughts, words and action. A wealthy man has to regard his
wealth as the Lord’s and feel that he is only a trustee appointed to see to its
proper utilization. Similarly, the knowledge we acquire here should be utilized
to the service of the poor and the distressed, in the service of the country,
of saints and devotees of the Lord.
Upanishads and Geeta
teach us that to lead a comfortable life here and now is not the ultimate goal
of life. Immortality and Eternal Bliss are not possible of being gained by
wealth. One should therefore turn away from these little and transient benefits
and aspire to attain the infinite bliss of communion with the Supreme.
The term Upanishad means
to ‘sit very near’. This indicates the intimate relationship between the
preceptor and disciple. Upanishads are given to us by way of discourses between
the disciples and great seers called Maharshis. They sat close to each other to
hear on the most exalted and solemn subjects namely, “The Supreme Brahman
and Nishkaama Karma (one’s duty towards oneself and society).
These values are well
brought out in Upanishads in Nichiketas and Maitreyi elements, explaining what
should be our approach and goal in life. Katopanishad is in fact an elaboration
of the story referred to in Kathaa Samhita. The story of Nachiketas is narrated
in this Upanishad.
Vajasrawas, the father of
Nachiketas performed Viswajit sacrifice in which he had to give away everything
he possessed as fees to the priests. The cows that were given by him were all
decrepit and barren. Seeing the kind of imperfection, Nachiketas was impelled
to ask his father to give him away to some priest as dakshina (fees) to make
the sacrifice perfect. The father in a fit of anger said that he would rather
give him away to Death (Mrityu) God, Yama. Nachiketas took seriously to his
father’s words and went to god Yama’s abode and waited for him for three nights
without food to see him, who had been away from his abode. Yama grants three
boons to Nachiketas. Nachiketas prays
that his father may be free from anxiety and that he may be well disposed
towards him, by the first boon. He wants Yama to teach him Agniveda by means of
which one gains Swarga (Moksha), by the second boon. The third boon Nachiketas
prays for is for knowledge about the nature of Moksha. Yama says that he would
grant him wealth, long life, comforts, happiness and earthly benefits in lieu
of that boon but Nachiketas is not lured by these temptations. He scorns all
transitory ends and prays for that knowledge, he desires. He said: ‘O Yama!
Keep all these chariots, damsels, wealth and years of life with you. They only
wear out the power of the senses. In the end I have to come to your clutches
only. Teach me that science which will make me immortal”. One should develop
Nachiketas element in life.
Saunaka, a man of wisdom
approached sage Aangeerasa and asked: “Oh venerable Sir! What is that supreme
science by knowing which all other sciences become known?” Aangeerasa replied:
“It is the science of Self “. He then instructed Saunaka in the science of
Self.
Maitreyi was the knower
of Self. She was the wife of sage Yaagnyavalkya. Yaagnyavalkya wanted to
renounce the world. He wanted to divide his wealth between his two wives. Wise
Maitryi asked: “My Lord, if you give me the wealth of the three worlds, will I
become immortal?” Yaagnyavalkya replied: “No beloved Maitreyi. Immortality is
not attained by wealth. You will only lead the luxurious life of a rich
woman.” Maitreyi decisively said: “Then, I do not want this wealth. Teach
me the supreme science by which I will become immortal”. Yaagnyavalkya was
greatly pleased by her wisdom and imparted the knowledge of Self to her.
Isaavaasyopanishad
deals with Karmayoga which doctrine Bhagavadgeeta has developed in all aspects:
Kurvannevaha karmaani jijeevishechchatam samaha
Evam twayi naanyathosthi na karma lipyate nare
“One should desire to live a hundred years just performing Nishkaama karma, a selfless service (accessory to upaasana). For an aspirant like thee, there is no other way. Karma will not cling to a man who is a knower of Brahman.
In Geeta Lord exalts the
man of virtue again and again. Krishna defines virtue as wisdom and knowledge.
One needs to study the thirteen wisdom thoughts in Bhagavadgeeta advocated to Arjuna by Lord Krishna:
“Humanity,
unpretentiousness, forgiveness, non-injury, uprightness, service to the
teacher, purity, steadfastness, reflection on the evils of birth, death, old
age, sickness and pain, non-identification of self with son, wife and the rest,
constant state of balance of mind whether one gets the undesirable or
desirable, unswerving devotion to God, love of seclusion, distaste for worldly
company, constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of true
knowledge--this is declared as knowledge; what is opposed to this is
ignorance”.
Upanishads impart this
deep knowledge by way of discourses between the preceptor and the disciple.
Such knowledge was imparted to the deserving and seeking disciples after an
initial entrance test before entering the Gurukula (school of spiritual
sciences). These teachings are very earnest in the upward evolution of man in
all spheres--moral, ethical, intellectual and spiritual.
Let us look at the way in
which the Upanishad Seers instructed their pupils. Garuda Puraana says that
“reading to a person devoid of wisdom is like showing a mirror to the
blind”. Brahmarishis attached no value
to uncoordinated knowledge or to unearned opinions but rather regarded these as
dangerous tools in the hands of unskilled craftsman. The greatest stress was
placed on the development of character. Entry to Gurukula was not easy. No
teacher would impart knowledge unless he finds the pupil ready to receive it,
as you have observed in the examples above, not even to their closest blood relatives.
Early Vedic literature
gives an indication why Spiritual Knowledge was not easy to obtain. Early Vedic Brahmodyas were riddles concerned
with the nature of the world, the ritual, the origin of the world, creation, spiritual
knowledge etc. The passage below taken from early Brahmodyas will illustrate
the genre. It is transcendental in outlook, being concerned with the question
of proper knowledge and understanding, with the natural language and with
transcendental unity underlying the diversity of the phenomenal world.
“Chatwaari
vaakparimitaa padaani taani vidubrahmana ye maneeshinah | Guhaa treeni vihitaa
nengayanti tureeyam vaachoe manushyaa vadanti || Indram mitram varunaam
agni-maan hurathoe divyah sa suparnoe garutmaan | Ekam sad-vipraa bahudhaa vadanti agnim yamam maatarisvaana-maahuh||
(Rig
Veda 1:164; 45-46)
“Language is measured in
four quarters; the Brahmanas (Divines) who are insightful do know these. Three
quarters is kept secret, they do not circulate; Human beings only (those who are
not Brahmanas and are Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Soodras in nature) speak a fourth
language. They call it Indra, Mitra,
Varuna, and Agni; and it is also Garutmaan, the divine eagle. Being just ONE
the wise (Brahmanas) call it manifold. They call it Agni, Maatarisvan”.
The three quarters
referred here are the three immortal quarters of Purusha explained in Purushaa
Sookta —those which are beyond human understanding.
At the end of study and
before leaving Gurukula, it was customary to give a parting advice. Sage
Vaisampaayana’s parting advice to students is found in the Taittiriya Upanishad
(section xi of Sikshaavalli) as follows:
1. Having taught the
Veda, the teacher should instruct the disciple thus: Speak the truth; Never
swerve from the study of the Vedas; practice righteousness; having paid the
preceptor the desired fees (dakshina), do not cut the line of progeny (enter
into family way of life). You should not be inadvertent about the truth. There
should be no faltering from Dharma. There should not be any inadvertence
regarding performance of auspicious deeds. You should not be indifferent
towards activities for wealth. You should not be careless regarding the learning
and teaching of the Veda.
2. You should not be
inadvertent about your duties towards God and the manes. Be one for whom the
mother is a goddess. Be one for whom the father is God. Let your teacher be God
unto you. Let your guest be God unto you.
3. Actions that are
free from blemish are to be resorted to, but not the others.
4. You should not
sit as an equal along with learned pundits who are more celebrated than
yourself and me (or you must offer seat to superiors and worship them with acts
of reverence and love.
5. You should offer
with faith. You should offer without attachment. You should offer with a
cheerful mind. You should offer with fear (reverence).
6. Should you have
any doubt with regard to duties or customs, you should act in those matters
just as the learned pundits that happen to be there and who are adept deliberators,
who are devoted to the Saastras, and, who are also adepts in worldly behavior
divested of anger and other passions and who are desirous of Dharma—do.
7. Then in
respect of those people who are charged with some guilt you should behave in
the same manner as learned pundits who may happen to be there and who are adept
thinkers, who are devoted to scriptures and who are also adepts in worldly
behaviors, who are divested of angers and other passions and who are desirous
of
Dharma—do.
8. This is a command
and this is the instruction. This is the secret of teaching the Veda. This is
the command that the teacher should impart to the disciple. Thus it should be
practiced. Thus alone one should meditate.]
9. May the mantras
(that is studied) protect us together. May it protect both of us! May we both
gain strength! Let the study of both of us be powerful. Om! May there be peace,
may there be peace and may there be peace.
May not hate each other
means, May we have affection for each other. In the event of cavil in respect
of any one of the two (the teacher and the pupil) the mantra that is studied
becomes powerless. The idea is that there may not be any fault in respect of
any one of the two. Peace is invoked so that other faults may be remedied.
This chapter represents,
what we may say, the modern ‘Convocation Address’ delivered to the students
when they were returning home from the ancient Grukula Universities. The
section as you have seen represents the Sanatana Dharma Commandments, the
entire address systematically concludes in seven waves of thought, each
following the other with a scientific rhythm which is the very melody of Hindu
thought, according to Swami Chinmayananda.
1. Advice
ruling one’s own mode of living with reference to the society and oneself;2. Regulating one’s relationship with the last generation and the present order;
3. Relationship with oneself and one’s teachers;
4. One’s attitude towards the learned and the wise in society;
5. Charity and the laws of giving;
6. Remedy for doubts regarding one’s duty and conduct in life, and
7. Doubts regarding one’s relationship with others falsely accused in the world.
Concluding these seven
specific waves of progressive thoughts, the teacher asserts that these
commandments are to be strictly followed by everyone. After the studies, before
the students are let out to meet their destinies in their independent
individual life as social beings, the teacher gives the exhortation which
comprises in itself, we may say, ‘Vedanta in Practice’.
A careful study of the
implications of these should give us an inkling of the secret by which we could
maintain, such subtle and divine outline amidst us, so successfully for such a
long period of unbroken history, as followers of Sanatana Dharma.
The waves of
thoughts as indicated in the seven sections are summed up as:1. Advice regarding the individual -self
2. His relationship with others
3. His right action in the world
4. His attitude towards learned pundits
5. The laws of charity and
6. His duty to follow the eminent living members of his times
The teacher concludes
saying that these commandments are to be followed diligently by every
Intelligent Seeker who lives his life for a higher cultural purpose besides his
worldly ambitions and secular activities. In short, over the shoulder of
students, as it were, the seer of Taittiriyopanishad is giving a universal
address to the entire community of the followers of Sanatana Dharma.
A peace invocation
(Shanti Mantra) is chanted both by the teacher and the taught every day during
the study. This is to remind themselves, before the study each day that they
are to exert themselves together in order to experience of the Truth of
the Upanishads, they get more tuned up with each other. This condition of
perfect unison between the teacher and the taught is unavoidable in the study
of the subjects of Vedanta. The invocation is rounded up with a thrice repeated
‘call for peace’. This is to avert all possible obstacles. The sources of
obstacle can be a) unseen b) seen and known c) subjective, within us in our own
mind. In order to avert all obstacles arising from the above three types of
causes, we have the thrice repeated calls.
Upanishads are truly the
treasure-house of the spiritual aspirations of the whole mankind. Their message
is relevant for all times for all the people and all traditions or religions.
They are the very foundations of the celebrated schools of thought of Vedanta
Philosophy and Universal Tradition, Sanatana Dharma. Geeta is almost considered
as an Upanishad as it totally reflects and elaborates principles of Upanishads.
“Each human being becomes a conscious
instrument of God when he enters sincerely into the spiritual life, the life of
aspiration and dedication. Before that, he is in the world of ignorance, the
world of sleep. But the impossibility which looms large in this human life need
not and cannot forever remain with us. Our life of ignorance will eventually be
transcended. Our essence, deep within us, is divine, and what we have within is
bound to come to the fore at God's choice Hour” says Swami Chinmayananda.
Spiritual education leads
to cultivation of virtues. In Bhagavad Geeta, we have a catalogue of the divine
virtues that one needs to cultivate. To those who have had not the opportunity
to study them and grasp, Swami Sivananda has put together a small lyrics of
eighteen important virtues which everyone ought to develop. These are:
Serenity, Regularity,
Absence of vanity,
Sincerity, Simplicity,
Veracity,
Equanimity, Fixity, Non
irritability,
Integrity, Nobility,
Magnanimity,
Charity,
Generosity, Purity—Practice daily these eighteen ‘-ities’,
You will soon attain immortality,
Brahman is the only real Entity,
Mr. So-and-So is a false
Entity,
You will abide in Eternity
and Infinity,
You will behold Unity in
Diversity,
You cannot
attain this in the University.CREAM OF DIVINE LIFE
Serve, love, give,
purify, meditate, realize; be good, do good, be kind, be compassionate; and enquire who am I?
Know thy Self and be
free; adapt, adjust, accommodate, bear insult, bear injury—this is the highest
spiritual practice.
Bibliography
1. Anantha Rangacharya N.S., Principal Upanishads, Volume 1,
Bangalore.
2. Swami Chinmayananda, Taittiriya Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Central Chinmaya Mission
Trust, Mumbai, India
3. Swami Sivananda, Religious Education, Divine Life Society,
Shivanandanagar, India
4. Wikipedia, and other
Internet Sources
APPENDIX
I
CODE OF PRACTICE TO FOLLOW THE
SPIRITUAL PATH
It is a cardinal tenet of our faith that the
present life of any person should be the last in the succession of infinite
lives that he had in the history of his soul. The soul itself is incorporeal; its
association with the body is due to the operation of ‘avidya’ or nescience. The
present life in every person is a glorious opportunity to be used in such a
manner that there will be no more lives hereafter. The death that will come
inevitably at the end of this life must be the last, and the soul surviving
that should not thereafter enter into another body by the operation of the law
of Karma. Since the residual Karma brings the soul in conjunction with the
body, all Karma should be liquidated, burnt out, with the body of the present
life itself. It is to this end man must strive.
For this purpose, says Sankara, following the
Vedas, everyone must go through certain disciplines. They refer to Work,
Worship, Wisdom, Karma, Bhakti and Jnaana. All spirituality must be established
on a high moral code, which involves the doing of what is prescribed and what
is prohibited. We have to determine the nature of duties in the context of our
daily life. What is Dharma? What is its ground? As good citizens, we say that
the Laws of a State determine our duties. These laws are the enactments of a
legislature which is a part of our constitution. Who gave this authority to the
constitution? It was drawn up by representatives elected by the people. But the
voters are of various kinds of intellectual and moral caliber and the
representatives whom they return are not always the best. That is a part and
parcel of this imperfect world. We also see that in some cases law and justice
do not coincide. Our courts are called courts of law. They are not courts of
justice in the strict sense of that expression. Occasionally our judges feel
helpless in the face of an unjust law, and, in their decisions, they recommend
that the law may be modified in consonance with the requirements of justice.
The enactments of legislatures regulate public
conduct. But what about individual morality? What is the criterion for personal
action, of what a man should do by himself and for himself. In our religion it has been said that in
matters of conduct one should be guided by the ordinances of the Vedas: ‘Vedokhilo Dharma Moolam’, the Veda is
the source of all Dharmas. The Vedas are authorless, they are not man-made.
They are intuitions of yogic sages into Eternal Truths.
What should be done where there is no guidance
from the Vedas? Many of the Vedas have been lost. If the extent of Veda texts
cannot guide us in our conduct, it is prescribed that we should look for the
guidance to the writings of sages like Manu, Yaagnavalkya, Paraasara and others
who have left behind what may be called ‘Smritis’ or ‘aides memoirs’ which
should determine our conduct. The authors of these smritis are not law-givers.
It is a mistaken belief to think so. They did not enunciate new laws. Smriti
implies what is remembered. It is a record of the memory of sages of texts of Vedas including what might have
been lost in the passage of time. The great poet Kaalidaasa picturesquely
conveys this to us when he said: ‘Sruterivaartham
smritiranvagacchat’, smriti follows the footsteps of sruti, quoting it as a simile, of queen
Sudakshina’s following her husband, king Dileepa and walking little distance
behind him, as he took the cow Nandini to graze in the forest.
What are we to do when there are no smritis to
guide us at a crisis? As these persons who know the Smritis are well versed in
the eternal basic principles of conduct, their declarations are expected to be
in line with the spirit of smriti. So,
it is said, ‘seelascha tadvidam’,
follow the conduct set by these authors of sruti.
It may be that we may not find persons well
versed in Smritis. We then have to model our conduct on the various actions of
good people: ‘Aachaarascha saadhoonaam’.
Sadhus are good people who are pure in heart. Sri Ramalinga Swami, Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Sharada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Rama Tirtha,
Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramana Maharshi and Swami Sivananda are a few of
the many great souls no longer with us whose spiritual messages, loud
and clear, still guide mankind. If these men of exemplars too are not to be had
to instruct us in the determination of our conduct on a particular occasion,
then we have to abide by the intimation of a pure conscience—‘aatmanastutirevacha’, pray to God for
guidance with a pure and devout heart
and act in accordance with the enlightenment that you then obtain. To
quote Kaalidaasa from Sakuntala, Sage Kanva approves Dushyanta’s own decision
to make love to his daughter: ‘In case of doubt, when there is no other
approved means to solve it, the good people rely on the voice of conscience’.
What is Consciousness?—our thoughts, feelings,
hopes and dreams; the hidden voice of our private selves; our inner identity?
What might consciousness consist of? All of us think we can understand
consciousness, but no one of us can explain it—therein lays its mystery. If we
add the advances we are making in the neurosciences and cognitive sciences to
the teachings of the wisdom traditions, like Sanatana Dharma, the result is an
unprecedented interface between two diverse ways of knowing and being in the
world. We are suddenly being compelled to reevaluate the significance of
consciousness and to confirm the notion that our subjective and objective
dimensions are probably one and the same. The strongest current theory is that
consciousness is complex, emergent property of the brain. This means that
consciousness emerges from all the complex electrical and chemical activities
in our brains, something like an ‘atomic bomb’ emerging from electrical mass of
uranium or a molecule of water emerging from two atoms of hydrogen and one atom
of oxygen. So while consciousness is produced by the brain, we may never know
quite how! Consciousness may be a more fundamental description of self-aware
being like us, a special part of Reality. With philosophers and physicists
disagreeing themselves, it is good that the study of consciousness is becoming
a scientific field of great promise. For now, the divergence of the opinion is
what brings our consciousness, a last resort in our helplessness.
From the above it is clear that the appeal to
consciousness or the inner voice must
be made only when all other forms of
guidance that have been enumerated namely, sruti, smriti, the way of those well
versed in smriti and the example of good
men are not available. Then and only then, can we act as our consciousness bids
us to act.
In Taittiriyopanishad sage Yagnavalkya in his
convocation address to his pupils says:
“Now if there should be any doubt regarding
your acts or any uncertainty in respect
of your conduct in life, you should act in those matters exactly as those
learned pundits, who are present there, who are thoughtful, religious(experienced)
not set on by others, not cruel(i.e., gentle) and are devoted to Dharma…
Now-a-days, however, the trend is to make it
all topsy-turvy--to give first place to what is called one’s conscience
debating all other prescribed guidance to a secondary place, or, as is often
done, to condemn them as meaningless and irrational. The ancient view about the
pramaanaas or criteria of Dharma, however has withstood the test of Time.
In order therefore, to know what may be done
and what may not be done, we must be guided by the pronouncement of Vedas
which states prescriptions of ‘vidhis’ (rules that are to be followed) and
‘nishedhas’(actions that are prohibited). Lord Krishna says in Bhagavadgeeta:
Yaha
saastravidhimutsrijya vartate kaamakaarataha
na sa
siddhimavaapnoti na sukham na paramam gatim
He who having cast aside the injunctions of
the saastras, acts according to his own sweet will, attains not perfection, or
happiness or the highest goal.
Therefore says Lord Krishna: ‘Let your
authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done,
knowing what has been prescribed in the Saastra, you should perform your action
here:
Tasmaat
saastram pramaanam te kaaryaakaarya vyavasthitau
Gnaatva
saastrvidhaanoktam karmakartumiharhasi
(xvi-24)
Thus to know how we should act in the course
of our lives, we must turn for guidance ultimately to saastras i.e., Vedas. To
know what Vedas say, it is necessary to learn them and keep uttering them every
day lest by reason of their not being put to writing, they should be forgotten.
So, Sankara said, ‘Vedonityam adheeyatam’,
Vedas should be learnt and kept alive in the utterances every day. Having
learnt them, the next thing which follows is: ‘taduditam karma svaanushteeyatam’, the duties prescribed by them
should be properly performed. God is pleased with that: ‘tena eeshya vidheeyataam apachitih’—Discharge well and truly the
karma which is yours and that will be your worship most pleasing to the
Lord—says Sankara.
To lead a good life, we must get rid of evil
in our mind, speech, and conduct. To this end, we must be continuously engaged
in thinking good thoughts and good deeds prescribed in the Saastras. An idle
mind is devil’s workshop. In the very process of doing good deeds the evil
automatically vanishes from our mind. Doing good deeds keeps us constantly
thinking of God and thereby we earn His grace all the more.
So, the first stage in the spiritual ladder is
the due performance of the obligatory duties prescribed in the Saastras. This
should be done with a view to enjoy the fruits of those actions; but purely
from a sense of duty in a spirit of dedication to God. The Karmaanushtaanam (performing duties with dedication) gives mental
purity and also makes one eligible for God’s grace. The loyal fulfillment of
one’s own individual Dharma is true praise and true worship of the Lord.
Practice of Dharma, devotion to God and
acquisition of Jnaana (supreme solvent of all suffering) are the three stages
of spiritual path.
The final realization is the result of Jnaana
of the Supreme Truth received from the Guru and contemplated upon by the pupil.
In that state, one is freed from the shackles of life and is said to be
liberated even while one is alive. This state is called ‘Jeevanmukti’. This is the goal of the spiritual path laid out in
our religion.
Prayers create an altitude from which true
faith and conviction (Bhakti) can grow. Prayers are never end in themselves.
Most traditions have taught men and women to go beyond into the silence—beyond
through the repetition of mantra into a transcendental stage. This teaches us
that our words cannot define God or the divine mystery, no matter how eloquent
our prayer is. They can serve only as spring boards to the sacred, helping
ourselves to the deeper currents of his existence and thus to live more intensely
and fully. But prayer cannot be effective unless it is accompanied by ethical
practices of religion, particularly by the virtue of compassion which is the
only and one test of true spirituality.
[This discourse
by Jagadguru Chandrasekharendra Saraswati of Kamakoti Peetham was presented to
the audience with added notes throughout the text for better comprehension by the compiler of
above discourse as supporting material]
APPENDIX II
SADHANA--EFFORTS TO BE TAKEN TO REACH
SPIRITUAL GOAL OF LIFE
Sadhana panchakam is a spiritual text
by Sankaracharya which not only calls for study of the Veda, but also
spread the message. He also guides us as to how to lead a peaceful and happy
life. I came across this text very late in life (Late seventies) when my
Sanskrit knowledge had faded away beyond recovery. My muscles were weak
but spirit was strong. But how can I read all Vedas? I could find no Guru
in Nashville but got inspired by frequent visiting Swamijis designated Anandas whose number is increasing, many
genuine and few fakes too, and the local Philanthropic doctors who were also
Spiritual doctors. My search engine brought my focus to One Upanishad
Mahanarayana which contained most of the Mantras in daily use. I started its
Swadhyaaya, self-study as I realized it as a Mantropanishad. The result was
the Blog Hindu Reflections <nrsarini.blogspot.com> that I have placed
before you with more than 300 discourses today. Please Arise Awake
and spread the message--Uttishthata
Jaagrata Charaibeti Charaiberti! I do daily MNU Parayana with understanding
each Mantra. But you will be far wiser to listen to FOWAI Forum Swami
Chidananda, Tyagananda, Hamsananda and others as I am only a poor
Vitaranaananda (disrtributor). If I can do it in my eighties with no
help you can do far better!
May I draw your kind attention to
audio presentation of Ekānte Sukhamāsyatām presented by: H. H. Swami
Hamsananda on Sunday, April 23,
2017. The gist of his presentation was: The efforts taken to reach the
goal of life are called Sādhanā. But the same shāstra reveals that there is
nowhere to go! The Supreme cannot be attained but Discovered Here and
Now! However the experiences suggest differently. Acharya Shankara, through
His Sādhanā Paṅcakam leads us to the way one can experience this pinnacle of
existence by being in Solitude and reveling in the Supreme! What is this
Solitude..? Where do I find this..? Where do I have to go to be in
Solitude..? What guarantee that I shall reach the destination..? -
Webinar threw light on these factors.
||Sādhana Pañchakam||
vedo nityamadhīyatāṁ
taduditaṁ karma svanuṣṭhīyatāṁ
teneśasya vidhīyatāmapacitiḥ kāmye matistyajyatām |
pāpaughaḥ paridhūyatāṁ bhavasukhe dośo’nusandhīyatāṁ
ātmecchā vyavasīyatāṁ nijagṛhāttūrṇaṁ vinirgamyatām ||1||
teneśasya vidhīyatāmapacitiḥ kāmye matistyajyatām |
pāpaughaḥ paridhūyatāṁ bhavasukhe dośo’nusandhīyatāṁ
ātmecchā vyavasīyatāṁ nijagṛhāttūrṇaṁ vinirgamyatām ||1||
saṅgaḥ satsu vidhīyatāṁ bhagavato
bhaktirdṛḍhā”dhīyatāṁ
śāntyādiḥ paricīyatāṁ dṛḍhataraṁ karmāśu santyajyatām |
sadvidvānupasṛpyatāṁ pratidinaṁ tatpādukā sevyatāṁ
brahmaikākṣaramarthyatāṁ śrutiśirovākyaṁ samākarṇyatām ||2||
śāntyādiḥ paricīyatāṁ dṛḍhataraṁ karmāśu santyajyatām |
sadvidvānupasṛpyatāṁ pratidinaṁ tatpādukā sevyatāṁ
brahmaikākṣaramarthyatāṁ śrutiśirovākyaṁ samākarṇyatām ||2||
vākyārthaśca vicāryatāṁ śrutiśiraḥ
pakṣaḥ samāśrīyatāṁ
dustarkātsuviramyatāṁ śrutimatastarko’nusandhīyatām |
brahmāsmīti vibhāvyatāmaharahargarvaḥ parityajyatāṁ
dehe’haṁmatirujhyatāṁ budhajanairvādaḥ parityajyatām ||3||
dustarkātsuviramyatāṁ śrutimatastarko’nusandhīyatām |
brahmāsmīti vibhāvyatāmaharahargarvaḥ parityajyatāṁ
dehe’haṁmatirujhyatāṁ budhajanairvādaḥ parityajyatām ||3||
kṣudvyādhiśca cikitsyatāṁ pratidinaṁ
bhikṣauṣadhaṁ bhujyatāṁ
svādvannaṁ na tu yācyatāṁ vidhivaśātprāptena santuṣyatām |
śītoṣṇādi viṣahyatāṁ na tu vṛthā vākyaṁ samuccāryatāṁ
audāsīnyamabhīpsyatāṁ janakṛpānaiṣṭhuryamutsṛjyatām ||4||
svādvannaṁ na tu yācyatāṁ vidhivaśātprāptena santuṣyatām |
śītoṣṇādi viṣahyatāṁ na tu vṛthā vākyaṁ samuccāryatāṁ
audāsīnyamabhīpsyatāṁ janakṛpānaiṣṭhuryamutsṛjyatām ||4||
ekānte sukhamāsyatāṁ paratare cetaḥ
samādhīyatāṁ
pūrṇātmā susamīkṣyatāṁ jagadidaṁ tadvādhitaṁ dṛśyatām |
prākkarma pravilāpyatāṁ citibalānnāpyuttaraiḥ śliṣyatāṁ
prārabdhaṁ tviha bhujyatāmatha parabrahmātmanā sthīyatām ||5||
pūrṇātmā susamīkṣyatāṁ jagadidaṁ tadvādhitaṁ dṛśyatām |
prākkarma pravilāpyatāṁ citibalānnāpyuttaraiḥ śliṣyatāṁ
prārabdhaṁ tviha bhujyatāmatha parabrahmātmanā sthīyatām ||5||
Translation
1. Study spiritual texts (“Vedas”) regularly
and put into practice their teachings. Worship the Divine in that manner and
give up the thought of desires. Wash away the negative habit-energy and examine
the defects of worldly excitement. Hold on to the awareness of the Atman and
leave at once your own limited identity.
2. Remain in the company of the holy
(thoughts, words, deeds; books, music, art; people) and strengthen your
devotion to God. Cultivate the qualities such as self-restraint and give up all
work prompted by selfish desire. Approach those who are wise and holy, and
serve them. Seek only the Imperishable Being (“God”) and hear the words of the
scripture.
3. Reflect over the meaning of the
scripture and take refuge in its perspective. Keep away from vain arguments and
follow the reasoning of the scripture. Always be aware that you are Brahman and
completely give up all egoism. Eliminate the thought of “I” connected with the
body and don’t argue with the wise ones.
4. Through the daily medicine of alms,
treat the disease of hunger. Don’t hanker after delicious food; be contented
with whatever comes of its own. Forbear the polarities such as cold and heat
and do not utter useless words. Do not expect kindness from others and abandon
all harshness toward others.
5. Live happily in solitude and focus
the mind on the God. See carefully the infinite Self and notice how it
eliminates this fleeting existence called the world. Through the power of
consciousness, dissolve your past karma, remain unaffected by your later karma,
and experience your present karma. In this way, remain established in the
awareness of the Supreme Self.
(Translation by
Swami Tyagananda)
APPENDIX III
Spiritual Aspiration and Practice
(By Swami
Krishnananda)
The Six Treasures
Forces of the world are going to be
friendly with us. God is waiting for our arrival there. But we also have to
bestow some thought on another important aspect of this matter. How are we to
make ourselves fitting instruments and a proper conducting medium for the
influx of universal forces into ourselves? The medium of contact is as
important as that which will flow through that medium into the expected
location. This is the very, very specific practical side of something that we
are expected to do about our own selves. An unfit instrument cannot be a good
conductor of powerful forces.
These ways and means of making
ourselves fit for the reception of divine grace and for the entry of universal
forces into our own selves are traditionally known as sadhana
chatushtaya, a fourfold discipline of one’s own self. Discipline implies a
restraint of the usual impulses of the psychophysical personality. The usual
impulses are well known to us because we have been hearing of them for some
days, the impulses being those which go in terms of the conditioning factors
imposed upon us by space, time and externality.
To withdraw ourselves from excessive
involvement in this conditioning factor which is externalizing us and making us
sensory, physically, socially, externally motivated – withdrawing ourselves
from these usual well-known normal impulses which actually are not normal –
this whole process is called discipline, a bringing about of a total
integration of our own self. We have to be ourselves before God becomes what He
is to us.
Sadhana chatushtaya is the fourfold way of
self-control, cleansing oneself, purifying oneself, making oneself fit for the
entry of that which is supremely divine. These four ways or methods of practice
are known as viveka, vairagya, shat sampat and mumukshutva.
When you are after something, you must know what it is that you are after. This
clarity by which you know what it is that you want, as distinguished from that
which is different from what you want – a discrimination that you exercise in
knowing what it is that you are after, what it is that you are expecting other
than what is secondary and redundant – this faculty of inner discrimination is
called viveka, correct understanding.
What is correct understanding? It is
the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood. What is the truth here,
and what is the falsehood? The falsehood is the appearance before us in terms
of the variety of objects of sense, this vast creation of space and time which
acts as a screen before us, preventing us from visualizing what is behind the
screen; and what is behind the screen is the truth. The distinction between
these two aspects of experience has to be drawn.
To some extent, emotionally we are
conscious of what it is that we are expecting in our aspirations. Young
children, boys and girls brought up in a religious atmosphere, are after a
religious life. “I chant the name of God. I pray to God. I live a life of
religion.” These ideas are not uncommon among children, perhaps known to them
through their parents, but they may not be clear in their minds as to what
actually they are meaning when they say like that.
When I want to become religious, what
do I really mean? The meaning is, I have immediately differentiated between the
kind of life that I wish to live, and the kind of life that I have been
accustomed to. All that is necessary to enable us to perceive Truth behind the
curtain is the discipline spoken of, as anything that will give us a temporary
satisfaction through the sense organs and the body is that which has to be
abandoned for the time being. When you are after something, you have to pursue
it. When you are an investigating scientist in a laboratory and you are
pursuing a course of tremendously important investigation into the structural
pattern of certain subtle things, you will not remember whether it is lunchtime
or breakfast time, or whether it is daytime or night time, or whether anybody
is there around you at all. An automatic discrimination takes place in the
laboratory because of the concentration of the mind on what is there before
one’s aim, and all other things become redundant.
Now, this capacity in us to
distinguish between what is redundant in this world and that which is essential
for making ourselves fit to tread the path of Truth is a discrimination
called viveka. When you know what is necessary and what is
unnecessary, what is proper and what is improper through this exercise of viveka,
you also know what is to be rejected and what is to be caught hold of. That
which you reject as unnecessary, redundant, meaningless, an interference – that
process of rejection is called vairagya. The meaninglessness of
certain things in the pursuit which we are after is that which will enable us
to abandon it from our considerations in daily life.
There is a sutra in Sankhya which
says, “Thinking always of something which is not connected with your spiritual
progress becomes your bondage,” as it was in the case of Jada Bharata whose
story you must have heard in the Srimad Bhagavata Katha, because whatever your
heart is contemplating, that alone you will get. Your heart cannot contemplate
a thing in the world and then have the aspiration be directed towards something
which is beyond the world. A careful distinction between the necessary and the
unnecessary, the meaningful and the meaningless, the beneficial and the
harmful, is the principle of renunciation. It is not that you are abandoning a
part of the world for the sake of catching some other part of the world, not
even that you are thinking of another world and totally rejecting its
connection with the present world. That also is not so. You are thinking of the
present relevance of certain factors in the context of your existing condition
of spiritual endeavor.
It is not that everything is
irrelevant at all times; it is also not true that all things are useful always.
Here is the difficulty in understanding how to conduct ourselves in the spirit
of renunciation. What are we to abandon? At every stage we have to understand
what it is that we have to take hold of, and what it is that we have to
abandon.
As you advance further and further in
the path, as light dawns more and more clearly before you, the idea of what is
essential and not essential will also vary according to the context and the
position in which you are placed at that time. So there is nothing which you
can totally avoid always, but there is also nothing which you can cling to
always. All things are what they are. Permanently you cannot love a thing; permanently
you cannot hate a thing. It is not that always you want the same thing, and
also it is not true that you never want it. The world is relative. It is an
internal adjustment of parts into the pattern of the whole which also changes
its characteristics as the wholeness goes on advancing from the lower to the
higher condition of itself.
Here I would like to mention to you
what this wholeness is. A little baby just out of the womb is a whole
individual. When it grows, it is again a whole individual. When it has grown
further into an adolescent, it is a whole individual. It is an adult, a youth,
a grown-up person; it is a whole individual. An old man is also a whole
individual. Even a little miniscule invisible existence of the child in the
womb is also a whole conspectus which will develop into larger and larger
wholes. The world is not working on the principle of fractions connected with
fractions. It is always a movement from whole to whole. This is what they
sometimes call holistic evolution in modern philosophical language.
Yet, there is a difference between
these whole things. One paise is whole money by itself; it is complete in
itself. A rupee is complete money by
itself. A penny is whole money,
a pound is a whole money. They are not to be considered as fractions. By
themselves they are complete. So, even in the lowest categories of our
existence, even an insect is a whole by itself. It is not a part or fraction of
existence. An ant is a complete individual, as complete as an elephant. The
hunger and the appetite and the likes and dislikes of an ant are similar to
those of an elephant. The pinch of hunger which an ant feels is as intense as
that which an elephant feels. The size of the body is not of any significance
here. It is wholeness that characterizes the whole situation.
Our mental structure is also a whole.
We do not think in parts or bits. There is a psychology these days which is
called Gestalt psychology. It is a German word. Gestalt means whole. The mind
operates as a whole and never as a bit or a part. Though you are apparently
thinking of some particular thing only, that thought which is apparently
particular at a given moment of time is inwardly connected to other parts which
are not consciously connected with this particular occupied part, but
subconsciously influence it.
There are strata of mind. Many
categories are there, of which three are important: the conscious, the
subconscious and the unconscious. We are now on a conscious level, but we have
an unconscious existence also which is deeply hidden in ourselves and covered
over by the impress exerted upon it by the conscious mind in the waking state.
It is not true that you are thinking the whole day that very thing that you are
thinking just now. This is a force exerted upon you to think in only one way
because of this audience of a particular nature. When you get up from this
place and go to the kitchen, your mind will think in a different manner; and in
days to come when you advance in age, the hidden store of your subconscious
will manifest itself little by little in the conscious. What is inside you will
condition and determine what you think outwardly in your waking experience. And
there are greater secrets in yourself – the vast soul of the unconscious, which
is nothing but a cloud of unknowing, as they call it, a large mass of dark
layers piled up one over the other of forces of thoughts, feelings and actions
accumulated during all the lives through which you have passed, right from
creation. They are your creditors. They are waiting to see when they can
contact you. They contact you only during the waking state, and at other times
you are not conscious of your existence. You are not always conscious of
everything. So a little of something from inside comes up at a given moment of
time, as people come out of ambush only when it is time for them to come. Now
they are all lying in ambush inside, and we think everything is heaven; it is
nothing of the kind. All the world of every kind of intricacy is hidden in our
own selves.
Due to this fact of a tremendous
involving nature of our own stratified individuality, understanding of what is
to be abandoned and renounced is a graduated process of further advancement of
our own consciousness and experience; every minute, every moment, you will have
to change your idea of what is to be renounced and what is to be grasped. Here
again is the necessity for a guide. It is like walking on a rope in a circus or
rowing a boat on a flooded river. This is viveka and vairagya.
Dṛṣṭa ānuśravika viṣaya vitṛṣṇasya (Y.S. 1.15): To one who is totally free from the desire
to contact that which is seen as well as heard, true vairagya dawns.
There are things which you see and some things which you hear. That which you
see is, of course, very clear to you. “I would like to have these things which
I see.” Certain glories are heard only. Glorious things are there in another
country. Why not make a trip to that place? Glorious things are in the heaven.
The heavens are described in the scriptures in very attractive terms. Why not
go there and have a little experience of it? Those people who do not entertain
a desire for anything that is seen with the eyes, or even heard –vaśīkārasaṁjñā vairāgyam (Y.S.
1.15): To such persons comes a kind of renunciation spirit which is
called vashikara, a power of control exercised, or capable of being
exercised, on anything.
Only he who has renounced a thing can
control a thing. A master of things is a person who wants nothing from
anything. He who wants a thing has no control over it, and cannot get it. You
cannot get that which you want; only that which you do not want will come to
you, because in your want you commit a mistake of keeping that object outside
you by thinking, “You are there.” And it will reply, “If I am there, why should
I come to you?” No desire can be completely fulfilled because of this basic
psychological error even in exercising the desire. You are wanting and not
wanting a thing at the same time by saying that you are wanting it. You may be
glibly saying that you want a thing, but in that wanting process you have kept
the object outside you, without which you cannot want it. If it is not outside
you, there is no wanting. So what are you wanting finally? You can imagine the
illusion and the delusion behind wanting itself. Can you understand this
difficulty before you? Every desire is a self-contradiction because to desire a
thing, it should be other than you, and if it is other than you, you cannot get
it. Then what is the purpose of desiring anything? It is a fool’s paradise.
Thus, inwardly exercise this spirit of control over your own self, by which you
will have a control of everything. So much about viveka and vairagya,
discrimination and the spirit of renunciation.
There is a third thing which is very
important, which is connected with our feelings and our emotions. Viveka and vairagya are
more of an intellectual and rationalistic nature, where you have to exercise
your understanding and logical thinking much more than anything else. But there
is something else, which is called your feeling. “Whatever be the thing you
say, I want this.” This is what the heart of hearts will tell. This heart has
also to be disciplined in the same way as the intellect has to be disciplined
throughviveka and vairagya. Your heart is yourself.
Your brain and intellect are not so connected with your existence as your
feelings and heart. “My heart is what I am.” Now this third requisite is
called shat sampat, an acquisition of six virtues. They are called sampat because
they are treasures actually, very valuable things: sama, dama, uparati,
titiksha, sraddha and samadhana.
Sama is a determination on your part
to be always calm and quiet under any kind of condition, even aggressive
conditions. It is very important. Hate does not cease by hate. Hate ceases by
love. Reaction is not the way in which you have to conduct yourself towards an
action. As one hand does not make a sound, one person cannot create a problem.
Two persons are necessary to quarrel, and you need not be a party to that.
Restrain your mind with the help of the understanding that you have already
exercised through viveka and vairagya.
Dama is the restraint of the sense
organs. Sama is the restraint of the internal organ which is
the mind. Dama is the discipline of the organs outside. There
is a distinction between the internal organ and the external organ. The
internal is called the antakarana chatustaya, the internal organ or the
psyche proper. Mano buddhi ahankara chitta: mind that
thinks, buddhi or intellect that decides and determines,ahankara that
identifies everything with itself, and chitta or memory that
remembers past things. These are, broadly speaking, the functional aspects of
our psyche. Because they are four, we call them chatustaya; and
because it is an internal faculty, we call it antahkarna, not
external, bahir-karana. The mind is used for all these four
aspects. Sometimes they divide the mind into understanding, feeling and
willing. This is the confinement of psychology in Western thought. But there is
much more about the mind than only this threefold classification. So much about
the internal organ, about which we said sama is to be
exercised.
Dama is the restraint of the five
organs – eyes, ears and the sensations of every kind. There are five senses of
knowledge and five organs of action. The eyes have a passion to see certain
things, and there is a passion for every sense organ. Passion is an
uncontrollable desire; a desire that has overcome you and flooded you is called
passion. Desire is the beginning stage of an overwhelming, consuming longing.
They insinuate themselves into yourself gradually like diseases that crop up
inside without your knowing that they are there and manifest themselves only
afterwards through the body.
The assistance that you can have in
the practice of this kind of control over the sense organs is to live in a
place where you do not have so much of attraction. It does not mean that merely
the absence of the physical existence of attraction will make you free from the
attractions. Even then, it is one method – The quarantine method, as it is
called.
You should not sever connection of
the senses completely from their objects. Then they will revolt. You must give
them up little by little, like people who want to give up cigarette smoking. If
someone smokes fifty times today and you tell him to give it up tomorrow, that
is not a very intelligent advice. If today it is fifty, tomorrow it is
forty-nine. He will not feel the pinch of it so badly because only one has been
reduced. Like that it becomes forty-eight, forty-seven, etc.; gradually, the
number diminishes as he becomes accustomed to less smoking. Simultaneously with
the reduction in number, there is also a suggestion to divert the mind into a
better positive occupation. Instead of smoking, have a cup of tea, because you
want some kind of titillation. Tea is not as harmful as a cigarette, so have
something like that, some occupation so that there is the reduction of the
quantum of longing on the one hand and an alternative substitute for this
desire on the other hand.
Homeopathy doctors give a medicine
called tobaccum to those people who are addicted to tobacco.
It has the effect of producing the sensation of actual tobacco, but homeopathic
methods do not work like allopathic drugs; their working methods are different.
They appear to make a sensation of the same thing that you want to avoid but
they actually work differently, contrarily and reduce that longing. This is how
you can handle your mind and sense organs. I am not going to tell you much
about all the sense organs; you can use your own discrimination to know what
the sense organs are. Even when you handle a rogue or a thief you must use your
discretion. You must be cautious, and not go headlong. Be very careful, very
careful.
I usually relate an old Chinese
anecdote in connection with self-control. The mind is like a wild bull. You
cannot go near it. From a distance the bull will hiss, snort, and try to gore
you. Your intention is to sit on it and ride it, but at present you cannot go
near it. From one furlong it will look at you with ferocity. What is the
method? The first step is to put a fence round the place where the bull is. It
may be one furlong. Now you know that the bull cannot come out of that barrier.
One step forward you have gone in the art of controlling this wild bull. Though
not much has been achieved, something has been achieved; you are free now, and
need not be afraid that it will come and jump on you. It cannot come because
you have put a fence around it. This is the first step.
Then what is the next step? Bring
green grass and throw it inside the fence. It will come near. It is not fond of
you. It will gaze at you with ferocity even now, but it will come and try to
eat the grass. It will go on looking at you, gazing into you, and then eat the
grass. Every day you do this practice. Throw green grass, a delicious diet,
some food that it will like. Every day it sees you and it gets accustomed to
your presence there. It sees you, and you see it. Then what to do?
The third stage is to hold the grass
in your hand and thrust it inside, through the wire fencing, but don’t throw it
down. It will come near you and eat that grass with a lesser ferocity in its
mind. Three steps you have taken: first it is very far, then nearby, and now
almost touching. You can even pat it on its head. It will do nothing because it
has been accustomed to your presence there with green grass. Then go on patting
its head every day until it ceases from making a frightening sound before you. Hold
its horn, but stand outside the fence. It will do nothing to you; it will be
gazing, trying even to lick your hand. Then slowly open a little passage in the
fence and touch it without being outside the fence. The fear has gone. It does
not fear you and you do not fear it any more. Touch it, touch it, touch it and
pat it on the back. Then you can hug it. It will become your friend. You can
sit on it and ride on it. You have mastered it.
The mind is like this wild animal. In
the beginning, it is atrocious and impossible to handle. It will not yield even
one inch to your requirement. In this way, with the help of your Guru, try to
find out how you can apply the logic of this anecdote in your daily practice.
Do not hate what you like to avoid. Understand how to handle that which you
would like to avoid. Even if the person is there who is something like an
enemy, you do not say, “Hey, you are my
enemy.” This is not the way of handling it. No public relations officer will
speak like that in an atmosphere of coordination, which is necessary.
The art of handling things is
actually the art of life, and these things include your own self. This art of
handling things, including yourself, is the art of harmoniously, cooperatively,
organically, holistically associating yourself with whatever it is. Sama and
dama, therefore, mean internal control of the mind, and external
restraint of the sense organs.
Uparti is cessation of all worldly
longings. “I have eaten well for sixty years. What is the use of asking for
further eating?” The same thing you are eating every day, but the desire is not
leaving. You have put on nice clothing, have you not? Why do you go on wanting
more and more nice dhotis, saris, and good diet? You have lived in a good
house. Okay. How many times you will go on asking for a new house? You have
land. You have enjoyed the harvest. Why do you go on repeating it again and
again? You have had enough of it. The desire is like a gulf which will swallow
any amount of water, and however much you may try to feed it, it will not be
satisfied. Desire cannot be quenched by the fulfilment of desire. Desire
increases by the fulfilment, as clarified butter when it is poured over fire
increases the ferocity of the flame; it does not make it cease. No desire can
be fulfilled by its fulfilment. Knowing this, the Yoga Vasishtha says all the
wheat and the rice and the delicacies and the wealth of the whole Earth cannot
satisfy even one person completely. Such is the vastness of human desire.
Knowing this, be calm. This is uparati.
Titiksha means a kind of endurance and
toleration that you have to exercise. You cannot expect everything to take
place as you want. Things are not always at your beck and call. Where it is
possible to change a thing, you can change it. Where you cannot change a thing,
you have to bear it. There is an old saying, “Give me the power to change what
I can, the will to bear what I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
The difficulty is, you cannot know the difference between what you can and what
you cannot change. This mixture of two aspects causes tension in the mind. So
bear what you cannot change, and change it if you can. If you can change the
world, change it, sir. Who is objecting? But if you cannot change it, tolerate
it; otherwise, you will be in an emotional tension. Be not in that
condition. Uparati is cessation of desire;titiksha is
tolerance in regard to conditions prevailing outside, natural as well as
social.
Sraddha is faith in that which you are
asking for. You should not go to God with a doubt whether He is, or He is not.
“O God, if you are there, please come.” He is certainly there. “God is
certainly there. It is certain that I am going to attain it. It is certain that
the method I am adopting is correct. It is certain that I am progressing every
day. I have symptoms and experiences which tell me that I am progressing every
day.” Have faith in yourself, faith in the art of the progressive practice
of sadhana, faith in God Himself, faith in the scripture which are
your guides, and faith in the Guru also. Sraddha is faith in
your own self first, faith in the method of practice which you are adopting,
faith in your Guru who has initiated you, and faith in the existence of God.
Samadhana is concentration of mind. Be
attentive always on that which you are seeking. Your eye is always on that like
the consciousness of a target of a bowman who strikes it with an arrow.
Concentration is the consciousness inside, fixing itself with its attention on
that which it wants. When you want a thing, why should you not be concentrating
on it? People say, “I want a thing, but my mind cannot go there.” The reason is
that you are not really wanting it. You have got a divided psyche, and so half
of the mind goes somewhere else, and another fraction of it goes to what you
are thinking you want. If you really want the thing, the mind must go there;
and when the mind is not going there, you are not really wanting it. Thus
knowing, concentrate your mind.
Sama, dama, uparati, titiksha,
sraddha, samadhana are
the six virtues, six treasures inwardly, psychologically, emotionally,
feelingfully you have to entertain in yourself. You will be happy inside.
Through viveka and vairagya you become
clarified in your understanding; through the sixfold virtues you become calm in
hour heart and mind.
Then comes the last stroke, last but
not the least: mumukshutva, that intense longing for it. Actually,
people say there is no qualification necessary on your part except wanting it.
If you want it, it has to come. Anything. Even a mountain should move if you
want it. “O ye of little faith, if you have a modicum of faith as the size of a
mustard seed, tell the mountain to move and it shall move.” This is a passage
from the New Testament. But a mustard seed of faith is not there, so why will
it move? Because you already know it cannot move, what is the use of saying,
“Move”? Mumukshutva is the wanting it. You have to remember
this in your mind. If you want a thing from the bottom of your heart, it shall
be given to you. It may be given to you today itself. It depends upon the
intensity of your longing. Very intense longing means today it shall come. With
mild longing, it may come after some days; very, very lukewarm wanting means
that thing will be provided to you in the next birth, or after ten births. But
what you want must be given. Now you must know what it is that you want. Don’t
want the wrong things.
By the clarified understanding
through viveka and vairagya and by the
discipline of the shat sampat method, know what it is that you are
longing for, and ask from the bottom of your heart; it shall be poured upon
you. Like the cloud of virtues pouring rain of nectar through a Samadhi
called dharma megha, to put it in the language of Patanjali
Maharshi, God’s grace will be showered upon you as a monsoon flood rising from
all sides and making you feel a thrill of completion which passes
understanding. These are the sadhana chatushtaya – viveka,
vairagya, shat sampat, mumukshutva. These are the ways by which you can
make yourself a suitable conducting medium for the ingress of forces which are
universal in their nature, natural as well as divine.
(Information
sent by my deceased relative and participant Sri Rajiv of Delhi who received it
direct from Swamiji which is gratefully acknowledged)
APPPENDIX
IV
Our Spiritual Destination
Message sent by John Smallman
Within the human collective there is enormous
creative ability which will be put forward in service to heal the damage
to humanity, all life forms, and the planet herself. These restorative
procedures, which are long overdue, are now being initiated in many parts of
the world as realization dawns and intensifies that you can no longer use and
abuse the Earth and her inhabitants and expect to survive. Of course your
survival is never in question because you are divine creations enfolded in the
LOVE That Is All That Exists for all eternity. However, as humans on
Earth, you must learn to live in harmony with all that is present in the
earthly environment and put that learning into practice or you will
self-destruct at that level.
Your divinely planned awakening from
the illusion into Reality is by way of a pleasant dream in which there is no
lack, pain, or suffering of any kind, it is akin to a state of Heaven on Earth
where you further develop your spiritual awareness and abilities in order to
prepare you for your full awakening back into the divine Presence which you
have never left, but which you chose to become unaware of so that you
could experience the sense or feeling of separation from Source.
Collectively you are now ready to
discard that experience and return to awareness of your true and eternal
nature. Nevertheless, there is quite a large number of humans, in
positions of apparent power, prestige, and influence, who do not wish to
release their tight hold on their illusory state of importance. They live
to command significance and praise from others, an illusory state of respect
and honor, that can be coerced from those they imagine are subservient
beings whose purpose, as they see it, is to glorify them. Some refer to
these people as the “cabal,” but in fact they are not one wealthy and
influential group of people, they are a mixed bag of self-centered and
egotistical individuals who only cooperate together when it seems to them that
it best serves their joint interests, at other times they will hppily destroy
each other.
The time for the games that these ones
are playing is over. Nevertheless, they will not cease their unpleasant
and deceitful activities so long as they believe that they can maintain or
improve their positions of power and influence. But their apparent power
is fading away, despite the news reports of immense corruption in many places
on the planet. It was but the power that the majority of humans had given
away at various stages in their lives and which they are now reclaiming.
Only your own power can be used
against you! Collectively humanity has chosen to reclaim its power
because it has come to see very clearly that to give it away in the hope that
someone more able, more intelligent, or wiser than themselves will protect them
and keep them safe from whatever they are afraid of does not work, never has
worked, and is basically a refusal to take personal responsibility for their
own lives. Your individual lives are your own personal responsibility,
and there is no way you can evade or escape that basic truth. Many
attempt to do so by playing the role of victim or by joining an authoritative
and hierarchical organization which will direct them with rules and commands
that they have to obey, or suffer negative assessments which damage their
reputations and can lead to punishment.
Social organizations of various kinds
are sensible and useful when designed and run with the best interests of all
members as their purpose for existence. When that purpose is no longer
present they need either to change drastically in order to be of continuing
service, or they need to be disbanded. In the business world this often
happens, and although there it is driven purely by the profit motive, the ideas
developed there can generate new ways of thought that can be used more widely,
not just in the arena in which they were born.
New ideas are arising all across the
world as the intense need for change becomes ever more apparent to all of
humanity. Many of these ideas would have been considered insane only two
or three years ago when most chose not to address or dwell on issues either of
a personal nature or of a global nature that needed attention. The
willingness to be distracted from your true life purpose by activities that
demand your total attention is collapsing because those unaddressed issues have
become too vociferous to ignore any longer.
The main issue is letting go of
judgment. Judgment has been endemic within humanity for eons and has
caused immense pain and suffering for all. Now awareness is growing
rapidly that the intense felt need to judge is fear-driven and has to be
released if you are to bring peaceful resolution to all the issues and problems
with which life as a human presents you.
You chose a human incarnation to avail
of the extremely evolutionary learning experiences that would be presented to
you, and then, as you grew from infancy to adulthood, your egos and their
opinions became of overriding interest, encouraging you to compare yourselves
to others and judge the apparent differences you observed between yourselves –
ethnic, racial, color, gender, religious, political, philosophical – as faults,
errors, and even criminal states, that YOU needed to correct in THEM, and by
force if persuasion failed. When everyone determinedly chooses to believe
themselves to be right and chooses to see others as wrong or misguided
the result is a state of general distrust that can and very often does lead to
conflict.
Over the last few decades a growing
awareness of the damage that occurs when firmly ingrained opinions and a sense
of righteousness are used to judge others has developed, and this is allowing
and encouraging many to make essential changes in their attitudes and
behaviors. The resultant tolerance of differing beliefs and life styles
is having a remarkable effect all across the world. Yes, in some places
it appears to be causing increased conflict, but this is due to the fear that
arises when established attitudes and behaviors are seen to be unfair and
divisive, and those with positions of influence and authority refuse to
consider the possibility of change. But change cannot be prevented, and
those who resist will be either side-lined or swept aside.
This truly is an age of change, of
GREAT change. It is also an age filled with challenges for you all, and
you knew this when you chose to be human at this moment in Earth’s evolutionary
journey. To evolve spiritually is your earthly task, it always has been,
but that evolution had been moving forward only very slowly until the 15th
century of the current era. From that point it started to accelerate, and
your increasingly modern technologies acted as a catalyst, so that now,
although those modern technologies enabled enormous damage to be done to the
planet and to all the life forms it supports, they can and will be used to
bring about an undreamt of spiritual evolution due to the instant and worldwide
communication abilities that all now have available to them.
Deceit and secrecy can no longer hide
from you the vast corruption that those in positions of power have engaged in
for so long. Presently there is an ongoing and severe backlash against
the abuse of power in every part of the world, but there is also a growing
awareness that this apparent power is unreal. It can only operate if
people comply with its demands, and more and more people are refusing to accept
it and cooperate with it. Awareness is also growing that it cannot be
overthrown by violent means, which is what has happened again and again through
the ages, because that just changes the faction that is in power, leaving
everyone beholden, as before, to those who would control and use them.
Initially it seemed that life on Earth
was a constant struggle for survival as the sense of separation from Source
filled all with fear, leading to distrust that was then validated as people
fought with those who appeared to be different – those from a different tribe,
region, or belief system. Once a belief in enemies became established
then there was a need for defense systems to be established to protect against
them, even by preemptive action. And it is that fear that has led to so
much ongoing suffering all over the world for countless eons.
With the recent rapid acceleration of
your spiritual evolution, which is but a choice and a decision to release all
that appears to separate you from your true nature, Love, it is now quite clear
to the vast majority that harmonious discussion, willing cooperation, and the
use of modern technology of every kind will enable you to resolve, on a global
scale, the issues and problems that have seemingly divided you into opposing
warring factions for so long, and at every level of human society. This
awareness is a major breakthrough that will encourage all to seek and find,
very easily, non-violent means of problem solving.
Your true nature is Love, because Love
is your Source, and that is unchanging. You have attempted to live
without It, and that attempt has been a dismal failure, so now you are ready to
open your hearts once more to allow Love to flow through you and connect you
beautifully and harmoniously in a wonderful and stunning embrace that welcomes
all and excludes no one. Therefore, be loving and only loving, regardless
of the situations in which you find yourselves, and awaken to the endless peace
and joy that this brings you.
Spiritual evolution is humanity’s
purpose and intent
(E-Mail sent to HR Forum in May 2018)
Here
is a message from John Smallman a spiritualist who talks very much on
Isavaraprema--Love of God. But what is Love of God? Aatmavat Sarvabhuteshu is the Vedic Mandate. The same Self abides
in all. A kannada proverb says "janasaevaye
janardhanana seve"--service to humanity is service to God as a
corollary love of humanity is love of God. He calls for this spiritual
awakening in the present world of hate, conflicts and fights to live in peace
and not in pieces: His thoughts say find love within whereas Hindus say
find Happiness within. Where there is love there is always Happiness.
It’s all about change! God,
Love, Source, is constant and unchanging, and yet creation is ceaselessly
ongoing, constantly developing and furthering its potentiality, its coming into
being. Quite a paradox! Change is constant and, at the same time, unchanging.
For eons it seemed that nothing changed, the seasons came and went, people
were born, grew up, and then died. But, underneath the apparent
constancy, evolution was forever ongoing – physical, psychological, rational,
and, of course, spiritual. In the last one hundred years that evolution
has accelerated enormously, and continues to do so!
Because of your recent technological
innovations you have the ability to cause massive destruction of all life forms
and cause untold damage to the planet herself. You also have the ability
to become aware and fully understand that separation is an illusion, that you
are in fact all completely interdependent parts of a vast ecological system.
Through that awareness, you are realizing that you must choose now to
evolve collectively for the benefit and welfare of all, otherwise your
aggressive industrial and military activities will lead to your
self-destruction, because, if that happens, the planet will no longer provide
the conditions necessary for human existence.
All around you there is clear evidence
of the enormous ongoing increase in humanity’s spiritual evolution on a daily
basis. Yes, you are waking up, and it is essential that you do so.
You are receiving incredible amounts of assistance from us here in the
spiritual realms, and from other realms of which you continue to remain
unaware. For eons humanity’s focus has been on basic survival, and this
has been accompanied by the belief – and the attitudes that follow from that
belief – that only the strong survive. Constant conflict has resulted,
and, of course, even the strongest weaken and die. Finally
realization has dawned on enough of you that it is essential that you make
major changes in your attitudes and behaviors NOW!
Consequently it is happening, and on a
far vaster scale than most of you are aware of. The tipping point is
past, and humanity is reinventing itself – that is it is in the process of a
dynamic and rapidly accelerating spiritual evolution. Spiritual evolution
is humanity’s purpose and intent, and it always has been, but knowledge or
knowing of that purpose had long been mislaid or buried, but it is now being
rediscovered with joy and enthusiasm.
All across the planet groups are
getting together to develop new ideas about sustainability; and new
understanding of the “laws” of physics are providing insights into new ways to
access virtually limitless energy so that the mining and burning of your
physical environment can be permanently terminated. Of course it has
always been possible to do this, but the motivation to understand and then
develop the ways to do it has been severely lacking.
Many wise young people – old souls
indeed – are moving into positions from which they can help to harmoniously and
enthusiastically encourage the discovery of these sorely needed major new
skills. Of course there will be upsets and disturbances on your path
ahead, but because the collective has made the choice to take
responsibility for its attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and activities by walking
its talk, instead of just talking and despairing that nothing can be changed,
they will all be dealt with wisely and humanely. There is a very bright
Light ahead of you, the Light of infinite Love in which all are eternally
enfolded, and you are aiming for it most purposefully and will not allow
yourselves to be led astray. A brilliant and glorious future is unfolding
around you as more and more of you set the intent each day to be only loving
whatever arises.
Do not forget to go within daily, to
your holy inner sanctuary, and engage fully with the Love that burns there
continuously for yourselves, and for all that God in His infinite Wisdom has
created to live in joy with Him. Love is your nature, and Love is
forever joyful, so open your hearts fully and allow that Love to
empower and direct you as you bring in the changes that will eliminate
conflict, poverty, and suffering on your beautiful planet.”
--May 18, 2018
Comments:
Telugu idiom says
"manavasevayemadhava Seva." (service to humanity is service to Lord
Madhava) subsequently some god persons said that why should be this limited
human beings alone and hence extended saying it that 'sarva
praniseva..sarvadevuniseva'—Service to all living beings is service e to all
Gods.
--Purushottam
Rao
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